Educationists speak of teachers’ salaries

It is up to each school to distribute funds, Narine Hovhannisyan, Head of the General Education Department, Ministry of Education and Science, told Tert.am as she commented on an article by the 168 zham newspaper.
 
According to the newspaper, at school staff meetings headmasters inform teachers that from now on they will not be paid for checking tests and supervising functions.

“The ministry has nothing to do with it. It depends on school budgets, which, in turn, depends on the number of students. It is not done by headmasters on their own will. They consider the situation,” Ms Hovhannisyan said.

Deputy Director of the National Education Institute Anahit Bakhshyan told Tert.am that teachers must be paid for checking tests and supervision as school budgets provide for that.

“However, a school may or may not have funds. The number of students is down in many schools now, while that of teachers is not optimal. This is the reason for lack of funds. The result is that teachers’ salaries are actually lower,” she said.

Ms Bakhshyan believes that the financial management problem is not new.

“The number of students has seriously declined, the financing remains sufficient for teachers, but salaries are being cut,” she said.

Only highly-skilled teachers must teach children, Ms Bakhshyan said.